Total smartphone shipments in India grew 19% annually from 25.8 million units in the second quarter (Q2) 2015 to 30.7 million in Q2 2016, according to the research group. India is currently the world’s third largest smartphone market, after China and the US. India is growing quickly due to low smartphone penetration rates, an expanding middle class with more disposable income, and intense competition among major vendors, retailers and operators, according to Rajeev Nair, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Apple’s iOS fell 35% annually and shipped 0.8 million smartphones in India in Q2 2016. Apple’s smartphone marketshare has halved from 4% to just 2% in India during the past year, according to Strategy Analytics. The company “will need to reduce iPhone pricing to cheaper levels, attract more operator subsidies and enlarge its retail presence through Apple stores or online channels if it wants to regrow significantly in the future,” according to director Woody Oh.

In May Nirmala Sitharaman, India's minister of commerce and industry, held a press conference to announce the government had rejected Apple's request to sell used iPhones in the country. “We are not in favour of any company selling used phones in the company, however certified they may be,” he said.

In March Apple sought permission from the government in India to sell used iPhones in the country. The goal was to increase its smartphone marketshare.

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